Historic indigenous victory halts oil and mining boom in Amazonia. Thanks to the mobilization of indigenous peoples, peasants and the people in general, the government agreed to reform Decree 151 to stop the expansion of mining and to repeal Decree 95, restricting oil exploration and production in protected areas. In addition, a platform of several points achieved by the indigenous, peasant and popular mobilization are the result of years of struggle (30 years of indigenous and popular uprisings) and 18 days of National Strike.

This long journey of struggle of the indigenous organizations, besides producing new learning, generated a questioning of the leaderships within their organizations, displacing and unmasking with the mobilization, toxic leaderships that had submitted the historic struggle of their organizations to the bosses and the oligarchic right, under the sad and puerile argument of preventing the return of “Correism.”

In this way, a new and young leadership, headed by Leonidas Iza, was able to recover the fighting stance of an organization that had been tied down by a reactionary clique that had turned the historic and combative struggle of the original peoples and nationalities of Ecuador into a way of life.

The agreements reached after 18 combative days of national strike, benefit all of Ecuadorian society, insofar as a reduction and freezing of the price of fuel, an increase in resources for obtaining financing, the forgiveness of debts of up to 3000 thousand dollars of impoverished peasants, the reduction of up to 50% of the value of a sack of urea, the doubling of the budget for intercultural education in addition to proposals for an educational reform that strengthens teaching in native languages, as well as the improvement of educational infrastructure, etc., etc., etc.

It is also established that these agreements reached will be implemented through debate between the indigenous and peasant organizations, with the government and mediators of the agreement during the next 90 days.

The mobilization also deals a blow to a conservative government that, in one year in office, has achieved the disapproval of 87% of Ecuadorians, as well as weakening the political organizations that, with their vote or complicity, have aligned themselves with Laso.

The national political panorama now consolidates the indigenous movement and Correism as important actors facing the upcoming “mid-term” elections, which will take place in the coming months, thanks to the fact that the legislative bloc of the UNES, as Correism is identified in the country, has begun a process of “muerte cruzada” that has managed to add 82 of the 137 members of parliament, weakening the executive’s capacity for maneuver and strengthening Correism as a fundamental actor against the government.

But the relevant lesson is, without a doubt, that nothing is achieved through conciliation, but through the mobilization and struggle of the people.

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